The proposed conference on "Eukaryotic mRNA Processing" will convene scientists studying various aspects of mRNA splicing and 3'-end processing mechanisms and regulation in metazoans and in yeast. Major advances have recently been made in these areas, and the proposed conference will be a timely event for discussing the latest unpublished results and exchanging ideas, thereby fostering new developments in this rapidly moving field. The proposed conference is a new meeting to be held every other year at Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory. The first meeting will be held on August 20 - 24, 1997, and is expected to attract 300-400 scientists internationally, who are actively investigating various aspects of messenger RNA maturation in eukaryotic cells, using genetic, biochemical, molecular, and cell biological approaches. The major focus of the first meeting will be on nuclear events in mRNA maturation, particularly mRNA splicing and polyadenylation. It will include eight plenary sessions and two poster sessions. Speakers in the plenary sessions will be selected on the basis of the submitted abstracts, which will encourage active participation by junior scientists. The main topics covered will include: catalytic mechanisms and specificity of mRNA splicing and 3'-end processing; developmental and cell-type specific regulation of gene expression by alternative splicing and polyadenylation, structure and function of snRNP particles and of hnRNPs, SR proteins, PRPs, and other yeast and metazoan protein factors involved in splicing or polyadenylation; spliceosome assembly; an localization and dynamics of processing reactions, factors, substrates, and products, in relation to nuclear architecture and to nuclear-cytoplasmic transport.